A Linear Accelerator in operation at the Jockey Club Radiological Institut. Queen Elizabeth Hospital,

Radiodiagnostic equipment in operation in the Jockey Club Radiological Institute, Queen Elizabeth Hospital

54. With the increasing importance of Hong Kong as a tourist and an international transit centre, the work of the Service has gradually increased during recent years. In the year under review, there was a marked increase in traffic with Macau owing to the introduction of new vessels on the route, notably a number of fast hydrofoil craft,

DISTRICT MIDWIFERY SERVICES

55. Owing to the difficulties of domiciliary delivery under existing housing conditions, approximately 93% of births took place in institu- tions, either hospitals or maternity homes. It is of interest that 20.5% of all births were in maternity centres attached to Government clinics and 38% were attended by midwives in private practice.

56. During the year a total of 72 maternity beds was provided in three new Government centres at Kwun Tong. Shau Kei Wan and Sha Tin. The domiciliary centre in Sham Shui Po was closed owing to the small number of cases attending and was transferred to the Tai Wo Hau Resettlement Estate in the rapidly-expanding township of Tsuen Wan where demand was greater and conditions more suitable for home deliveries.

MATERNAL. AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES

There is increasing public appreciation of the value of these services in the maintenance of health amongst infants and mothers, and 53.6% of children born attended a Centre on at least one occasion; the corresponding figure for 1963 was 45.8%. Only 0.14% of the new attendances at infant welfare centres were found to have abnormalities; of these, the majority were either congenital defects or the effects of prematurity. A further encouraging trend is the increasing appreciation by expectant mothers of the need for regular ante-natal care as reflected in increasing attendances at ante-natal sessions and by the low maternal mortality rate.

58. Three new full-time centres were opened during the year al Kwun Tong Jockey Club Clinic, the Shau Kei Wan Jockey Club Clinic and the Lions Club Government Maternal and Child Health Centre in the Kowloon City area.

SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE

59. The Medical and Health Department undertakes in all registered schools responsibility for environmental sanitation, the control of

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